Operating at the Intersection of Technology and the Capital Markets
Tag: Lyft
Lyft decided to suspend its rideshare service in California after being ordered to account for drivers as employees. Uber may be next. It is unlikely that Uber or Lyft could ever operate profitably were they both forced to account for all drivers as employees. In equity and fixed income analysis we have the "consolidation" principle … Continue reading Lyft Tapped Out In California. Uber May Be Next.
Rideshare as a long-term investment? Right up there with owning an airline. Heck, even if the rideshare companies were operating at scale - running on autonomous vehicle fleets - would you really want to own that business? Depreciating assets, multiple competitors (it will be more than Lyft and Uber), and thin profit margins (we are … Continue reading Rideshare as an Investment? Don’t Be Spun by the VCs
The SEC ought not allow companies to issue supervoting or non-voting shares - a method companies use to enable founders to exercise control beyond their share ownership. To my knowledge it has only been a few, high profile Technology companies that have used this trick. Alphabet (tkr: GOOG) split its stock into three classes in … Continue reading Supervoting Shares = Poor Corporate Governance
Cadillac's "BookbyCadillac" premium automobile subscription service (we refer to as AaaS), sits comfortably between the traditional car ownership model and the pure rideshare model (Uber, Lyft, Waymo). Priced at $1,500/month (plus $500 initiation fee), we don't believe that Cadillac's bundled subscription service is a good value - flexibility and convenience come at a price. Listen … Continue reading Automobiles as a Service (AaaS); Uber Completes Tender Offer
A bit of Simulation Theory, 1984, Minority Report and The Matrix. While autonomous vehicle technology is real - don't believe the hype: Ep. 88: Autonomous Vehicles - Real Technology with A Dash of Hype:
Uber's corporate governance - or lackthereof - is a hurdle in consumating a deal with Softbank. We are not fans of entrenched founders and out-sized voting stakes.
It would seem to us that Alphabet (tkr: GOOG) has a greater probability of bringing a functioning autonomous ride-hailing service to market at scale via its Waymo unit more quickly than Uber or Lyft given the strength of Alphabet's balance sheet. We cover Uber - although primarily from a corporate governance standpoint - in … Continue reading Uber Killer? Waymo & Autonomous Ride-Hailing
WSJ article: Toyota’s Talking Car Wants to Be Your Clingy BFF Embedded voice-based intelligence/AI within the automobile - one more reason for Apple, Amazon, Google/Alphabet and Microsoft to insert/expand their footprint within the auto sector. Vehicles are feature-rich and lend themselves well to voice-based commands/ AIs. Each of Apple, Amazon, Google and Microsoft could readily … Continue reading The Auto Sector is as Fluid as Any. Who Will Dominate in an Autonomous, AI-Driven World?
You must be logged in to post a comment.